- EIB President Werner Hoyer will lead a delegation to Washington DC between April 10-16 to join policymakers and fellow Multilateral Development Banks in forging responses to global challenges
- Stronger international partnership on climate action, investment in green tech and support for Ukraine will top the EIB agenda in Washington in a series of meetings on the margins of IMF/WBG events.
An EIB delegation led by President Werner Hoyer, as well as Vice-Presidents Ambroise Fayolle, Teresa Czerwińska, Ricardo Mourinho and Thomas Östros will meet with key figures in international development and finance for talks on a range of topics, including stepping up support for Ukraine, European energy transition, delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, global partnerships to accelerate climate action as well reform of the Multilateral Development Banks.
Speaking ahead of the Spring Meetings, EIB President Werner Hoyer said:
“Only stronger partnerships across continents will take us to a secure and - as the recent IPCC report puts it – a “liveable” future. In this, the Multilateral Development Banks are playing a pivotal role through strategic investments that help tackle poverty, deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals and break the toxic dependance on despots and sources of power that are contributing to the devastating impact of climate change. Our decision as the EU bank, to stop financing for fossil fuel energy projects and to massively ramp up our support for clean energy and climate action was an asset in Europe’s response to the energy crisis sparked by Russian aggression in Ukraine. It also demonstrated clearly that there is no trade-off between ambitious climate action and development.“
“But we can and must work even more urgently and effectively together. At the heart of the call for MDB reform is not just increased financing for development and climate – but more impact and effectiveness. In Washington what is uppermost in our minds is the need to strengthen the impact of our partnerships and collective action with the World Bank Group and other MDBs. And this week we expect to make real progress on taking these partnerships forward.”
On the margins of the Spring Meetings, the EIB is expected to announce new partnerships with the US Development Finance Corporation and the World Resources Institute designed to deepen transatlantic cooperation in key sectors and to tackle environmental challenges such as biodiversity loss and adaptation in developing countries.
President Hoyer is also expected to call for stronger support for Ukraine. As part of the EU response, the EIB has disbursed €1.7 billion since Russia’s invasion last year. On 12 April, he will participate at the 3rd Ministerial Roundtable Discussion for Support to Ukraine. He will present EIB’s recently approved “EU for Ukraine Initiative” to finance reconstruction and recovery to step up public and private sector investment for critical infrastructure in Ukraine, with support from the European Commission and Member States. The initiative will also be accompanied by a €100 million technical assistance package.
At a special event hosted by the Center for Global Development (CGD) on 13 April, Investing in a Sustainable Future in an Age of Disorder and Uncertainty, President Hoyer and Maria Shaw Barragan, EIB Global Director of Lending in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Pacific will join CGD President Masood Ahmed and Mikaela Gavas, Managing Director of Europe and Senior Policy Fellow to debate the twin challenges of climate action and development. To attend online, register here.
The EIB delegation will outline plans by EIB Global, the new development arm of the EIB Group, to support transformative projects in the green energy, health, transport and water sectors. It will contribute to the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, designed to support around €300 billion for sustainable investment around the world, out of which the EIB aims to mobilise at least €100 billion. EIB Global is the banking arm of EU external action, aiming to advance EU policy goals for sustainable growth worldwide.
The EIB’s Climate Bank Roadmap foresees a massive investment in support for clean energy and climate action in support of international climate goals.
- It commits the EIB Group to support €1 trillion of investments in climate action and environmental sustainability in the critical decade from 2021 to 2030;
- To increase the share of EIB financing dedicated to climate action and environmental sustainability to more 50% of its annual operations by 2025;
- As laid out in the Roadmap, in 2021 the EIB Group became the first public development bank to align all its financing activities with the principles and goals of the Paris Agreement
In 2019, as the EU climate bank, the EIB decided to stop financing for fossil fuel energy projects. In 2022 alone, the share of EIB investments that went to climate action and environmental sustainability projects rose to €36.5 billion, or 58%.
More information about the EIB at the WBG/IMF Spring meetings visit :
The EIB at the 2023 World Bank Group-IMF Spring Meetings
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The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union’s long-term financing institution, owned by its member states. We finance sound investments that contribute to EU policy goals. We support projects in infrastructure, innovation, climate and environment, and small and medium-sized enterprises.
EIB Global carries out our operations outside the EU. As a key partner in the EU’s Global Gateway, we aim to support at least €100 billion of investment by the end of 2027, one third of the strategy’s target. With offices across the world, EIB Global is close to local people, firms and institutions, and fosters strong Team Europe partnerships with development finance institutions.